Social media and the ever-increasing demand for “authenticity” are pushing restaurants to regularly change up their menus—but adapting for seasonality can present its own challenges.
Steve Palmer, founder of Charleston, S.C.-based Indigo Road Hospitality Group, said that hoteliers and restaurateurs should look to connect with local farmers and learn “who are the local purveyors, who are the people that are growing things seasonally.” In Charleston, for example, he said it’s important to get to know not only the fishmongers but the fishermen themselves.
Trent Seib, executive chef at the Portland (Maine) Harbor Hotel’s Harbor Bistro + Terrace, agreed that when planning a seasonal menu or experience, the restaurant’s team focuses on location. In Maine, he said, ingredients and readily available products “continuously change” based upon the seasons. As such, the team develops each menu based upon both current and past trends, the experience/taste that its guests are looking for, and of course, our premier location in the Old Port.
Chef Ben Fauske, chef at the nearby Cambria Hotel Portland (Maine) Downtown Old Port’s Alto Terrace Bar + Kitchen, cautioned that creating a seasonal menu requires balancing local fare with “creating a flavor profile that anyone will enjoy.”
Building a Menu
At New York City’s Tempo by Hilton Times Square, which opened in February, Chef de Cuisine Kit Skarstrom said he begins planning menus for the property’s Highball restaurant and bar by deciding what proteins he would like to use. From there, the team considers what vegetable seasons are coming up and start to “ideate” meals and menus based on what will be available.
To effectively develop seasonal menus, Palmer suggests “building a culture” of menu meetings to not only develop new menu ideas but also to foster a collaborative environment. “Collaboration in the kitchen is where the best ideas come from,” he said. “Once young cooks feel inspired to cook like that, to feel like they have a voice in the menu, you're going to naturally have a creative environment that wants to change the menu regularly. That's when you really see seasonal menus starting to shine.”
This has to extend beyond each property to the management organization or brand as a whole, he added. “It's our job as an organization to first and foremost empower the chefs to feel like they have a voice in what's going on their menu.”
Planning a seasonal menu takes a “considerable amount of time,” Seib said, noting that “unexpected weather issues” can make it challenging to keep up with agricultural trends. “When this occurs, we can usually pivot very quickly to find an appropriate culinary substitute.”
Fauske advises developing a seasonal menu “within six weeks” of its launch, while Skarstrom said his team plans three to four months out. Palmer, in turn, argued that planning a menu months in advance limits creativity in the kitchen. “When you're buying from local farms. quantities are limited,” he said. “This year, we might get six weeks of those great ramps in the spring or the morel mushrooms in early summer. Next year, we might get two weeks of them. So I don't think you can plan far in advance at all, which I think makes it more exciting.”
Procurement, Providers and Profitability
Skarstrom’s team works with Baldor, Chefs Warehouse and Wild Edibles to find “the freshest local products” for Highball’s menu. Palmer argued that large-scale purchasing companies cannot provide “truly seasonal” foods but agreed that produce from these businesses can still be useful for making stock and in other capacities.
Seib’s team works with local companies and vendors, seeking out partners “that are accommodating, easy to work with and take the time to interact with us,” he said. The “vast majority” of the sales teams with whom Seib and his team interacts are either retired chefs or current chefs who are looking for a change of pace. “This makes it easy and convenient to bounce ideas off of them and gain their opinions as well as tap into their knowledge of exciting new products and food trends,” he said.
New products and trends can help capture valuable market share and drive profitability by enticing guests to stay in house instead of going to another location, according to Seib. “We base our menu pricing on the cost of our seasonal products,” he said. “Offering seasonal menus and experiences is not only attractive to our guests but it also attracts local residents that are looking for a change in routine.”
“Seasonal menus provide profit to the hotel because it brings in more people coming to the restaurant, which offsets your food cost particular to the season,” Fauske said. The menus are priced differently, he added—“and this is important because the menu items change in price to accommodate tourism. Seasonal menus do bring in more people.
Skarstrom noted that locally sourced, in-season produce is often less expensive than ingredients that need to be preserved and transported from farther away. “Berries in the winter are expensive and typically [of] poor quality, but if demand calls for that ingredient, we’ll make it happen,” he said. The price for dishes incorporating such ingredients would often be elevated, he added.
Over the last decade, diners have come to “understand the importance of supporting local” businesses, including farms, Palmer said. “That's why it's important to put those farms on menus [and] to have the waitstaff educated on where the food is coming from.” When guests feel “integrity and intentionality” from the restaurant team, “I think they're willing to pay more,” he added.
Ultimately, Skarstrom said restaurateurs have to find a balance when developing a menu that both attracts guests and brings in revenue for the business. “For example, if you spend on the cost of the fish, you can then save on the cost of the garnish.” If an entree has a higher cost, it can be balanced with less pricey salads and shareable dishes to keep guests from grumbling.
“The dish has to work financially,” Palmer said. “It's got to, obviously, be delicious, but it's got to work in all aspects.”